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The Devil in the Marshalsea

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The Devil in the Marshalsea

By: Antonia Hodgson
Narrated by: Joseph Kloska
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WINNER OF THE CWA HISTORICAL DAGGER AWARD 2014.

Longlisted for the John Creasey Dagger Award for best debut crime novel of 2014.

London, 1727 - and Tom Hawkins is about to fall from his heaven of card games, brothels, and coffeehouses to the hell of a debtors' prison. The Marshalsea is a savage world of its own, with simple rules: those with family or friends who can lend them a little money may survive in relative comfort. Those with none will starve in squalor and disease. And those who try to escape will suffer a gruesome fate at the hands of the gaol's rutheless governor and his cronies.

The trouble is, Tom Hawkins has never been good at following rules - even simple ones. And the recent grisly murder of a debtor, Captain Roberts, has brought further terror to the gaol. While the Captain's beautiful widow cries for justice, the finger of suspicion points only one way: to the sly, enigmatic figure of Samuel Fleet.

Some call Fleet a devil, a man to avoid at all costs. But Tom Hawkins is sharing his cell. Soon, Tom's choice is clear: Get to the truth of the murder - or be the next to die.

A twisting mystery, a dazzling evocation of early 18th-Century London, The Devil in the Marshalsea is a thrilling debut novel full of intrigue and suspense.

©2014 Antonia Hodgson (P)2014 Hodder & Stoughton Crime Crime Fiction Historical Mystery Fiction Exciting Scary Murder
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Would you consider the audio edition of The Devil in the Marshalsea to be better than the print version?

Dont know

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked both the naive but brave and resourceful narrator and his enigmatic cell mate, Fleet. They reminded me a bit of Davy and Long John Silver in Treasure Island.

Any additional comments?

This was a an atmospheric novel which also had plenty of suspense and twists and turns. I thought it was very well written and researched. Who knew that the old Marshalsea operated like a kind of concentration camp, killing poor people through brutality and starvation in the plain centre of London? Unlike the previous reviewer, I didn't find it at all repetitive, though that's often a criticism I make of audiobooks. I thought the narrator was great and didn't mind the sound effect either!

One of the best audio books I've chosen recently

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This is a great story. A bit graphic so not one to listen to whilst you're having dinner.

The voice actor is very good and, without over the top accents, differentiates the characters well. His voice is a good match to the story and the volume is well regulated.

The only problem with this book is the audio edit. First, the musical interludes between chapters are rather drawn out and, secondly, there were sections where the different 'attempts' or 'takes' of occasional sentences were not edited out. At one point the actor apologises and then repeats the sentence again with the emphasis in a different place. Not what I would expect and detracted from the excellent story.

Great story, shame about the edit.

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An unusual story that was performed really well was let down by very shoddy editing. Lines were repeated throughout, sometimes two or three times, performed in different ways. How any editor listened to this and gave it the OK is unbelievable. I would be furious if I were the author.

Poor editing let this great book down

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Shardlake meets umbertos Name of the Rose. Superbly crafted story, very well naratedwith unexpected twists and turns and a bit of religious intrigue thrown in.

A great piece of historical fiction

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My only criticism is that there were many repeated phrases more than I can remember with other books.
This apart I really enjoyed this story and the music and sound affects added to the atmosphere.
Good story and I loved the characters.

Atmospheric production

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